Be sure to reserve your season tickets today to see Lethbridge Hurricanes play.

The 2018-2019 season is the 50th for the franchise for Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club

Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club—Western Hockey League

The Lethbridge Hurricanes will be entering their 32nd season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the 2018-2019 season is the 51st for the franchise.

Fueled by passion

With a storied past, the Lethbridge Hurricanes embark on their journey to the 2018-2019 Memorial Cup and would like to take you along for the ride!

The Lethbridge Hurricanes carry an extensive history as the franchise began its roots in Winnipeg and stayed there for ten years from 1967-1977; first as the Winnipeg Jets, then as the Winnipeg Clubs, and finishing as the Winnipeg Monarchs.

Following the 1976-1977 season, the franchise relocated to Calgary to replace the Calgary Centennials, who became the Billings Bighorns. The franchise became known as the Calgary Wranglers and played out of the Stampede Corral for ten seasons before relocating to their current home in Lethbridge and changing their name to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for their inaugural season in 1987-1988.

Although the Hurricanes were new in Lethbridge, it was not the first WHL franchise to call Lethbridge their home as the Lethbridge Broncos were in town from 1974-1986 before relocating to Swift Current, now known as the Swift Current Broncos. This left Lethbridge without a WHL team, but only for one season as the Lethbridge Hurricanes moved in and began playing in the 1987-1988 season.

Although the Hurricanes missed the playoffs in their first season in Lethbridge, the ‘Canes managed their first playoff series win against the Prince Albert Raiders in the 1989 playoffs. However, they were eliminated by the Saskatoon Blades in the East Division Semi-Final.

This fueled the fire and passion to win as the Hurricanes battled their way to claim their first ever division title in franchsie history. The Hurricanes marched to the WHL championship series but were eliminated in the final by the Kamloops Blazers in the 1990 playoffs.

After winning the East Division for the second consecutive season, the Hurricanes once again stormed through the playoffs to the WHL championship series, only to be swept in four games by the Spokane Chiefs.

This didn’t deter the Hurricanes though, as they made the playoffs five of the next six seasons before making their first run at the Memorial Cup. The team’s crowning achievement came in 1996-97, when the Hurricanes captured their first ever WHL championship with series victories over the Prince Albert Raiders, the Moose Jaw Warriors, and the Red Deer Rebels before sweeping the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL final.

Attending the 1997 Memorial Cup tournament was the first in franchise history; the Hurricanes’ first game of the tournament was on May 11, 1997 against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The ‘Canes won their first game 4-2 over Chicoutimi. In the second game of the tournament, on May 13, 1997, the Hurricanes faced the host team, the Hull Olympiques. Despite falling behind 5-0 after the first period and trailing 6-1 heading into the third, the Hurricanes stormed back and tied the game at 6 goals apiece! Mike Josephson was the overtime hero as he gave Lethbridge the 7-6 win.

The ‘Canes final round-robin game was against the Ontario Hockey League champions, the Oshawa Generals, on May 14, 1997. The Generals defeated the Hurricanes 2-1.

In the semi-final game on May 17, 1997, Lethbridge defeated the Generals 5-4 in overtime to advance to the Memorial Cup final. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes ended up losing the Memorial Cup final to the Hull Olympiques, 5-1 on May 18, 1997.

After a period of limited playoff success the 2008-2009 Hurricanes finished the season with 45 wins, a feat matched only by the Hurricanes’ teams of 1989-90 (51 wins), 1990-91 (45 wins), 1996-97 (47 wins and WHL Championship) and 2015-16 (46 wins).

In the 2008-2009 playoffs, the Hurricanes took the opening series four games to two against the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Hurricanes defeated the Kootenay Ice four games to one and swept the Calgary Hitmen en route to their first WHL Eastern Conference Championship banner in 12 years.

The Hurricanes had a successful 2015-16 season, bringing home the team’s second Central Division Championship banner. The 1996-97 team was the last Hurricanes team to win the division. The 2018-2019 season promises to be an exciting year as the team welcomes the return of many veterans eager to show Lethbridge their hard work, drive, and determination.

The team has experienced many highs and lows throughout its history and Hurricanes fans have been there through it all, creating memories to last a lifetime! Everyone has their most memorable moments ranging from the club’s accomplishments – two Central Division Championship banners (1996-1997 and 2015-2016), two WHL Eastern Conference Championship banners (1996-1997 and 2008-2009), one WHL Championship (1996-1997), and four trips to the WHL finals (1989-1990, 1990-1991, 1996-1997, 2008-2009) – to in-game and off-ice moments.

Many fans remember the moment when Colton Sceviour scored the Teddy Bear goal that started a parade of 21,905 stuffed animals pouring from the rafters, a CHL record that has long since been broken, and when Juha Metsola made a last-second save to send the Hurricanes to the WHL Championship. In the 2012-2013 season, thousands of fans witnessed Ty Rimmer break the Hurricanes’ single season saves record, which stood at 1,837 for 24 years; Rimmer would continue on to set his own record finishing with 2,106 saves in the season. A sold-out crowd at the ENMAX Centre witnessed goaltender, Stuart Skinner, score his first WHL goal on March 18th, 2016 against the Medicine Hat Tigers. And, of course, a storybook 2016-2017 playoff run saw the team win three straight games to come back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Red Deer Rebels. Moving on, the team faced the Medicine Hat Tigers in a series that also went seven games culminating with the rookie, Dylan Cozens, tying the game late in the third in Medicine Hat to force overtime, only to have Hurricanes fan favourite, and team captain, Tyler Wong, score the overtime winner to move the team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2007-2008 season. These are just a few great moments that fans still remember, but there’s many more to come and the Hurricanes invite you to create your own with the team!

The team saw many changes last season and rode a roller coaster of wins and losses throughout the whole year. The players are ready to show Hurricanes fans how to build on that success when the community comes together. They are prepared to show you what is in store for the 2018-2019 season. The time is now, your season has come, but you must rise with us to get there. What are you waiting for?

To get your tickets for the Lethbridge Hurricanes contact the Hurricanes office at (403) 328-1986 or the Ticket Centre at (403) 329-SEAT(7328).